The development of organophosphate chemistry and associated biological effects resulted from the use of chemical warfare agents produced during World War II. These compounds can adversely affect the human nervous system even at low levels of exposure. For example, fruits and vegetables that are commonly eaten by children, including peaches, apples, grapes, green beans, and pears, are among the foods most commonly contaminated with organophosphates. Children can also be exposed to organophosphate compounds through the air, food, dust and soil, and even pets. Children of farmworkers and children in agricultural areas are among the most exposed to organaphosphate compounds, although urban children are also at risk.
Since the advent of chemical warfare during World War II, organophosphorous compounds have become widely available as pest-control agents. Became of their relatively low cost and ability to be applied on a wide range of larger insects and crops, organophosphate compounds have become the most widely used class of insecticides in the United States. Organphosphates are also among the most common active ingredients in pesticide poisonings.
What is needed in the art are compositions capable of being administered as clinically effective, delayed, treatments for non-lethal and potentially lethal organophosphate exposure, using conventional administration devices, such that the associated conditions of cholinergic crises and non-cholinergic crises are controlled and/or averted. Such a treatment method provides an effective on-scene treatment of an exposed subject by non-medical personnel in military settings and healthcare first responders in civilian incidents, and also provides a sufficient treatment window to allow transport of an exposed subject to a medical facility for effective treatment. In cases of mass casualties, this can be done by first responders most conveniently by means of antoinjectors containing an effective medication.